~May Birthdays~

We recently took a trip to the Children's Museum to celebrate one of my younger brother's birthdays!

We had a very enjoyable day and I thought I would share some of the pictures with you! :-)

This is the birthday boy...all ready to go for a ride in the airplane! :-)

Here my grandparents and two of my brother's and I stopped to look at something new in the museum....a "Kinetic Energy Exhibit". It was quite fascinating! It had many colorful balls that would roll along on tracks, some of the tracts were straight others were spiraled. Sometimes the ball would roll along and bump into a bell that had been set up to "ding" when the balls hit it. :-) Another thing that was really neat was when the ball came to the end of its track and fell off...it probably fell about two feet, then it would bounce off of a small landing area, up onto another track and keep going! We could have watched it for a very long time! ;-)

In this picture my brothers and another boy who was at the museum that day were exploring the bubble area!

There were bubbles in the ring around the boys feet and in the center of the ring there was a rope hanging down. If you pulled the rope, it would cause an object kind of like a hula hoop to come up out of the bubble liquid and form a bubble around you! :-)

At the fire station. :-)

This was at the art center...a very fun place to be!

Working and shopping at the grocery store. :-)

This is my brother....the judge! ;-)

After a while we took a break to have lunch and birthday cake! :-)

Then it was time for presents!

Later we headed outside the museum. There was a small train that you could ride on and as the train was loading up to make one of its rounds, my brothers and cousins decided to stand on a bridge that went over the train track, so they could wave at the passengers as they went underneath it. :-)

Now this part of the museum was rather interesting! On the wall it looked like colored dots were "raining down" and if you stood in front of the wall you would see your shadow. Then if you put your arms up the "dots" would start to collect "on" your arms...as though you were catching them! It was pretty amazing! :-)

Here I am on a "not so ordinary" bicycle. When you start to peddle the "skeleton man" beside you does too! It's a great example of how our skeleton works inside us and of how we truly are fearfully and wonderfully made!

This is the News Center.

This is my other brother...ready for his ride on the plane. :-)

And here are my brothers and cousins...all loaded up in a Model T! "So long!"

Just a few days later we celebrated my older brother's birthday!

I am very thankful for each member of this family and I am so very grateful to be a part of it!!! :-D

Love In Christ,

~Chloe~ :-)

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting. "

Psalm 118:1

~Happy Mother's Day~

"What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God...We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow."

-Martin Luther

"Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

"Many daughters have done nobly,

But you excel them all."

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."

Proverbs 31:28-30

~Happy Mother's day!~

Love and blessings!

~Chloe~

Graduation Day!!! :-D

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah. 29:11-13

Saturday was my high school graduation!!!!!!!! This was the beautiful cake we had!



This picture is of my three wonderful brothers beside one of the graduate's display tables. :-)









Once the ceremony began we entered the room and took a seat on the stage. After a word of prayer, several of the seniors played a musical piece on the piano ( I played "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" ) and then all the seniors sang "The Blessing". We then gave roses to our parents, grandparents and some of the others special in our lives. :-) Next we listened to our guest speaker who shared with us words of wisdom and encouragement, followed by each of our parents presenting their senior with a diploma!

Here I am with my sweet grandparents! I'm sooo glad they could all attend as well as many of my other relatives and friends!



Here I posed with my dear parents! :-)


It was a wonderful day! I am thankful for the special time and am truly blessed!!! :-)


In closing I would like to share this quote with you. I thought it was so good! :-)


It says:

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." ~Corrie Ten Boom

Hope you all have a blessed day! :-)


In Christ,
~Chloe~ :-)

~Baking~ :-D

The other day I made some chocolate chip cookies, four loaves of whole wheat bread, and a pan of whole wheat cinnamon rolls topped with icing! Mmmm! Below are some pictures from the baking day! Enjoy! :-D

Here is the large piece of dough! It just came out of the bread machine and is ready to be divided into five portions!






Here I was shaping the dough into loaves and placing them into their pans. After rising, they went into the oven to bake!


And here is the finished product!

While the bread was baking, I rolled out the fifth portion of dough, spread a little butter over its surface and then sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar. :-)

I then, rolled it up......








....and cut it into cinnamon rolls!


Once baked, I added the icing and we all had to sample them! :-)






Hope you all have a wonderful day!

In Christ.
~Chloe~ :-)

"He who gives attention to the word will find good,

And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. "

Proverbs 16:20

~I Serve A Risen Savior!!!!!!!~

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified."He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying."Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.

Matthew 28:5-8

Happy Resurrection Day to you all!

Blessings!

~Chloe~

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

~The Making of A Carrot Cake~

Today I made a delicious carrot cake...here's the recipe! :-D














Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 vegetable oil (we used smart balance)
4 eggs
3 c. grated carrots
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 t. vanilla

Cream Cheese Icing
1/2 c. melted butter
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 t. vanilla
1- 1 lb. box powered sugar (add to taste)
Sift together sugar, flour, soda, salt and cinnamon.







Stir in oil.









Add eggs...

(only four! ;-D )




...one at a time, mixing well after each addition.






(Grating the carrots.)





Add carrots, nuts and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.


























Pour into a floured and greased 13 x 9 x 2" cake pan. Bake in 350* oven for 30 minutes.


Note:
We used two 9" round cake pans and baked them until a toothpick inserted came out clean... approximately 40 minutes.

Cool in pan, spread with Cream Cheese Icing.





Note:
We used a butter cream frosting to reduce calories and cholesterol. :-) It was quite good!

And here is the finished project! :-)

Hope you all have a blessed day!

In Christ,
~Chloe~ :-)

"If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;
knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ."

1 Peter 1:17-19

~A New Skirt~

Hello everyone! :-)

A while back, I finished making a denim, tiered skirt!
I used the McCall's pattern, number 5054. :-)






I was pleased with the way the skirt turned out! It is very full and is lots of fun to wear! I enjoyed making it and hope to sew some more garments in the near future! :-)

Grace and peace to you all!
~Chloe~

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5, 6

~A Day With Jacqueline!!!~

We recently had the privilege of meeting with a very sweet blog friend of mine-Jacqueline!!! :-) We met up with her on Thursday, went out to eat and got to visit for while. :-) I felt quite blessed that we could get together for a time of fellowship! :-)

Blessings to you all!

~Chloe~ :-)

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."

2 Peter 3:18

~Malt-O-Meal Muffins~

The other day I made some yummy Malt-O-Meal muffins. We like to double the recipe so we can put some of the ready made muffins in the freezer to pull out for a quick breakfast or snack! These muffins are good just plain or if you like you can add a little butter or a light drizzle frosting. :-) Here's the recipe...happy cooking!



Malt-O-Meal Muffins
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Original Malt-O-Meal hot wheat cereal, dry
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Preheat oven to 400* F. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir together until all ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into greased or paper-lined muffin pans, filling cups 3/4 full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until center is firm to the touch. Yield: 12 muffins.

Note:
We have some mini muffin pans that we use on occasion. :-) For those we shorten the baking time to 10 to 12 minutes.

Blessings to you all!
~Chloe~

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths..."

Psalm 25:4

~Happy 25th Anniversary!~

Hello all! :-)

This month my dear parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary! I thought I would share some of their lovely pictures with you!

Here my parents posed for their engagement picture. :-)

This picture is from their wedding. :-)













And this picture was taken in the fall.. :-)

Dear Mom and Dad,
I am so blessed by your godly examples and am thankful for your love for each other!
May the Lord bless you with many more joyful years together!

Love and blessings!
~Chloe~

" The LORD bless you, and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance on you,

And give you peace. "

~Numbers 6:24-26~

~ March is here... ~

....and with it signs of Spring! :-D As I recently took a stroll around the yard I was excited to discover that many of our plants...the miniature roses, the Bradford pear trees, the lilac, iris's and several other plants are all beginning to put on their new bright green foliage, blooms etc. ! :-) Isn't it so amazing!! How do the plants know when it is time to bloom? And the purchased potatoes stored in a dark place...how do they know when it is time to sprout? Our Lord God the Creator of heaven and earth DESIGNED them that way! :-)

"Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You"

Jeremiah 32:17

And as the plants put on their new growth, we too should be growing in the Lord...

"He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:8

Here are some of the "fruit" that we should be "growing"/"bearing"...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Galatians 5:22-23a

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."

Galatians 6:9

I looked up the meaning of the word "grow" and here are some of the definitions I found...

"to spring up and develop to maturity", "to be able to grow in some place or situation", "to assume some relation through or as if through a process of natural growth "increase, expand", "grows in wisdom", "to cause to grow"

May we all grow in our walk with the Lord each day!

Blessings!
~Chloe~ :-)